Dot Elibe, Legend of the Emblem
by Link015
Summary: (AU, kinda) I'm making a Fire Emblem version of .hack Legend of the Twilight! You don't have to have read the manga because this story still explains what happens in it! Read please! Sake Quote! Sake Quote! And OukaLyn comes in! Oh, and fan-art as well.
1. The heroes, Sain and Rebecca

Chris: Another story! This time, I'm making a parody of .hackLegend of the Twilight! Yeah! And you don't really need to have read the manga or .hackSIGN, because this is pretty a self-explanatory story. Oh yeah, it's kind of AU. Because in real life, Sain and Rebecca are in the real world. But, when they log in, they're in Elibe. I'm making a Fire Emblem variation of .hackLegend of the Twilight. Anyway, on with the fic! Yeah  
  
Mia: Hey, hey! We need to say some things first!  
  
Farina: Chris doesn't own Fire Emblem or .hackLegend of the Twilight.  
  
Rebecca: Yeah!  
  
Chris: Oh yeah, I'll leave it up to you guys to figure out who everyone is from the manga. Although you don't really need to know, it makes the story funnier. Read the manga, I command you. It's in story format. Oh, and I'm skipping the prologue because that's too confusing. And I don't know whose point of view it is. When the letters are in italics, this is Sain's note. And I'm making up another person here. One of the 8 Heroes. It's now 9. I just made that up, okay.  
  
_italics_ - Sain's note  
  
" "- dialogue  
  
' ' - thoughts  
  
_italics, underlined_ - ending e-mail thing  
  
- location  
  
**bold** - Character class  
  
underline - note usually some comment or action that appears to explain stuff

* * *

_ Hello. My name is Sain Kunisaki. When I entered High School, I thought I was over video games. Until my sister came with the news._  
  
"Elibe? What is that?" Sain asked.  
  
"What building were you hiding under? Elibe is only the most popular online-RPG in the world! Elibe is so popular!" his sister, Rebecca, replied.  
  
"Give me a break. All these online-RPG's are so tedious. So many things to remember. I'd rather go out on a date with a hot girl." He said.  
  
"Give it a chance. There are over 20 million people who play this! Come on, wear this headset. I'll show you."  
  
Sain took the headset and held it in his hands. 'Great, now instead of being lost by myself, I'll be lost with millions of people around the world.' He sighed and placed it over his head.  
  
"Perfect! Now let's play! We can use those special characters that I won! Let's go! You ready?" Rebecca said happily.  
  
"Sure, I guess. Might as well give this a try..." Sain nodded and got ready. He felt a rushing movement and opened his eyes.  
  
Pherae  
  
Sain - **Level 1 Twin Blade**

Rebecca - **Level 1 Heavy Blade**  
  
Sain looked around at the realistic landscape of a town. "Whoa?! This looks so real! And it feels real too!" He lifted his hands and looked at his clothes. He was wearing a bright orange hat and the same cooler vest and pants. Under his vest, he was wearing a white shirt with a big collar and gloves and boots. He also had bright teal hair. "Wait, is this me?! I look like a nerd! How will I get chicks like this?! Aw man...I'm never going to get used to this."  
  
A dark-skinned girl who had a sword strapped to her back and wearing purple pants with lines of yellow came up to him. She also had a bright pink skirt and gloves and wore some skimpy chest armor. "Welcome to Elibe, brother! Shugo! Over here! It's me, Rebecca!"  
  
Sain looked at her and suddenly found out he had a nosebleed. "Re- Rebecca? Is that you?!"  
  
Rebecca smiled and stuck a finger at him. "While in Elibe, I'm not your sister and you're not my brother! I'm just Rebecca and you're just Sain, okay?"  
  
"It's so weird though! And-And you're wearing such a skimpy outfit! It's making my nose bleed! Can't you wear anything else? And what would mom say?!"  
  
"I think it's kind of cute. I could never look like this in the real world. And besides, we don't look like any other character design! We look just like dot heroes from legend! They're my idols! The dot heroes were the only players that were able to solve the last mystery of Elibe! And they started out just like ordinary players, just like us! There was Roland, a Twin Blade. And Kimaru, a Heavy Blade. The boy, Roland, that's you. The girl, Kimaru, that's me."  
  
Sain looked at his hands. "Wait, so you're telling me that this dorky outfit...Makes me a hero?!" He looked around and saw two ladies looking at him. 'Oh no, what do I do?! I'm a newbie, I don't know anything!' He started to sweat but he quickly brushed off his nervousness and watched as the two girls walked closer to him.  
  
"Excuse me? I've never seen your character design before. Is it special or something?" one of them asked as she looked at Sain.  
  
"Ah, I'm just a newbie! I don't know anything! Don't ask-Wait, Nevermind." Sain stopped sweating and started to think. 'Hmm...Maybe since I have the costume of a legendary hero, I can impress them and get a date! Sweet!' He turned back to the two girls and put on his most winning smile. "Why, special? Of course, I'm playing as the legendary hero, Roland. Perhaps you've heard of him? I hear he's pretty famous."  
  
The two girls just stood there, looking at him. Then, suddenly, one of them gave a fan-girl squeal and started rushing around Sain. "Ohmygod! Really? The legendary hero, Roland?! No way!"  
  
Other players noticed the commotion and looked to see what was going on. The other girl told everyone that Sain was playing as the legendary hero, Roland, and then Sain became swarmed with admiring people.  
  
"Is that really Roland?!"  
  
"I can't believe it! They were so lucky to win those character designs!"  
  
"Can I have your autograph? What about your e-mail address?"  
  
Sain, of course, loved the attention and was about to ask one of them out on a date when Rebecca grabbed him and dragged him away. "Sain! Don't be such an idiot in Elibe also! It's bad enough that you're foolish in the real world! These character designs are really rare! You can't just go bragging off to everyone!"  
  
"I'm sorry sister. I won't do that again. I promise." Sain said as he sat down. 'At least I got this cute girl's e-mail address. Wonder if she lives near us. These dot heroes are really famous. This could be exciting after all. After all, if you're going to play an online-RPG, you may as well play as a legend!'  
  
Rebecca lifted Sain up, and hugged him. "Okay, it was just one lousy mistake. Come on, let's go fight some monsters! We need to head for the Dragon's Gate first!" She and Sain ran off to the Dragon's Gate, a circular portal. Sain stopped to catch his breath and looked at the Dragon's Gate. "What is this?"  
  
"It's called a Dragon's Gate. It transports people around Elibe according to their level. Let's go through! However, we might find enemies when we go through. Are you ready?"  
  
"Of course! Bring them on! I can handle them!" Sain yelled as he walked through the portal.  
  
Field of Sacae  
  
Sain and Rebecca were warped here and they looked around. Rebecca shaded her eyes and sighed. "Man, this place is like nothingsville."  
  
Sain looked around, his eyes scanning the field. "Where are the monsters?! I can fight them! I'll destroy them! Grr! Grawr! Rahr!" He spotted a soldier carrying a wooden stick. "Ah hah! There's one! I got it!" He charged at the soldier but the soldier whacked him in the stomach with the stick and knocked him on the head. "Ah, what hit me?!"  
  
Rebecca charged up and slashed at the soldier with his sword. The soldier fell to the ground and disappeared. "Oh look. The legendary hero is crying." She handed him a small vial that contained a green liquid. "Here. This is a vulnerary. It'll heal your hit points."  
  
"I can't believe I got beaten up by a guy with a stick. Man, some legendary hero I am." Sain said as he drank the vulnerary.  
  
"I don't really want to say this, but you got what you deserved. I mean, you just charged him without using your weapons! You don't read the instructions, you don't chat with the villagers, you didn't bother to buy any items, and you didn't even save your progress! I've seen players like you. They just play however they want and when they get screwed over, they complain about how the game is unfair! If you don't try to get with the game, no one will want to play with you!" Rebecca scolded as she started to lecture him.  
  
Sain's face turned red. He turned around and stalked off. "Forget it! I'm sick of this stupid game! I told you these RPGs are a pain in the neck! The only thing I've gotten that was worthwhile was that girl's e-mail address! I don't even know why you invited me! We already spend enough time together in the real world! Besides, I'm slowing you down! I'm leaving!"  
  
"S-Sain?" Rebecca looked at him with sadness in your eyes. "I-I just wanted to go on an adventure with you, brother..." She slumped to the ground and started to cry.  
  
Sain looked back at her and struggled with his emotions. Finally, he closed his eyes and coughed. "Ahem, sorry about that, sister. I'll try harder next time."  
  
When he said that, Rebecca immediately stopped pretending to cry and raised her fingers in victory with a wide smile on her face. She turned to him and hugged him again. "Thank you, Sain!"  
  
"No problem." He ruffled her hair and smiled. "So, you going to teach me how to use my weapons?"  
  
"Okay, the first thing you need to do-" Rebecca turned as she noticed a giant shadow forming over her. She spun around and saw a giant general wearing layers of armor in front of her. Sain noticed the shadow too and looked. "Is this another on of those weak monsters?"  
  
"No way! That's a level 40 General! He shouldn't be in a newbie area! Don't say anything! Just run!" She grabbed Sain's arm and started to run away from the general.  
  
"What are we supposed to do now?" Sain yelled as he sped off with Rebecca.  
  
"Just keep running! If that thing catches us, we're dead!" Rebecca said as she dodged a punch aimed at her. The general towered over them and slowly stepped towards them, his strides long and wide. He punched the rock they were hiding behind and aimed another punch.  
  
"Something's wrong with this game! This can't be happening!" Rebecca sobbed as she continued to run. However, she wasn't far enough and the punch would surely hit her. Sain saw this and pushed her away, taking her place. "Rebecca! RUN!"  
  
She sped off without looking back but felt when the punch landed. "Sain! NO!"  
  
PLAYER SAIN IS DEAD  
  
Sain was lying face up with his eyes closed. He seemed to be floating on this liquid-like substance. 'What just happened? Did I die? Aw man...I didn't even save. That would be work. But what happens to a player when he dies?'  
  
A girl with long, light-blue hair appeared in front of him. She has a flowing blue-white dress and her face was shadowed by her hair. She slowly drifted to Sain.  
  
Sain looked at her. 'Is that Rebecca? No...It's not Rebecca.' He got a closer look at her and would have gasped in surprise if he could. 'A girl?!'  
  
The girl leaned over Sain's immobile body and stared at him with her blood-red eyes. "Sain. You are the chosen one. The one destined to carry on the legend of the dot heroes." She leaned over to his face, and kissed him on the lips. Sain's eyes opened wide.  
  
_ My name is Sain, and I'm 17 years old. I found many new and exciting things while playing Elibe...but nothing as exciting as my first kiss._  
  
'No way. She kissed me!' Sain thought in surprise. The girl broke the kiss and moved away from Sain.  
  
'Wait, d-does this happen to everyone who dies? Rebecca never mentioned anything about kissing! What's going on?' He sat up and felt his limbs. "Hey, I can move again."  
  
SAIN'S LIFE IS RESTORED  
  
Sain stood up and faced the unknown girl. "Did you do this? Did you heal me? Thanks! Can I have your e-mail address?"  
  
The girl slowly drifted away from him. "Sain. Do not forget. You are the heir to the dot heroes legend! You must continue the quest that they began!" She took hold of Sain's left wrist and lifted it to her. "Take the bracelet. The one treasure sought by all." A bright light formed around Sain's wrist and he leaned backwards, trying to escape it.  
  
"Woah! It's so bright! I can't keep my eyes open!" He saw that the mysterious girl was drifting away from him and leaving. "Wait! Wait! I don't even know your name yet! Don't leave me!"  
  
She turned to him. "My name is Ninian. Fear not, young Sain. We shall meet again." The light shined brighter and brighter and Sain had to close his eyes.  
  
"Ni-Ninian!" Sain opened his eyes and found out he was in the Field of Sacae again. "I'm back in the field. Was that all just a dream?" He raised his left arm and saw an unfamiliar bracelet on it. "Wait, a bracelet?" He thought about it. 'This must be what Ninian was talking about. Maybe it wasn't a dream after all.'  
  
"Sain! Sain, you're alive! How is that possible?!" A girl's voice shouted to him as he looked around.  
  
'That's right! We were attacked by that general!' He looked around for Rebecca. "Rebecca! Rebecca! Are you...okay?" He saw Rebecca being held by this unfamiliar person. He has bright-red hair and was wearing blue armor. He also had wings on his back. He turned to Rebecca.  
  
"Are you okay, Milady?" the red-haired man said.  
  
Sain just stared dumbly at this new character and didn't move. "Wha- wha-wha- wha-What the?! Who the heck are you?"  
  
"Can Milady stand?"  
  
"Y-yes."  
  
"Don't you dare touch my sister like that! And don't ignore me!"  
  
The man glanced behind him for a moment. "You might want to get ready. Your friend is back." The general appeared behind a cliff and moved towards Sain and Rebecca again.  
  
"That monster again?!" Sain shouted in surprise.  
  
"We need to get out of here!" Rebecca yelled.  
  
The red haired man moved in front of the General and dropped his sword. "Crap!"  
  
Sain looked backwards and saw the red-haired man without his sword. "Hey, mister! Look out!"  
  
The man picked up his sword quickly and managed to block the General's punch. He then pressed to the attack and pushed back the General.  
  
"He repelled the monster! He must be a really high-level character!" Rebecca exclaimed as she watched.  
  
The man quickly turned to Sain. "Sain! Use the bracelet!"  
  
Sain held his left arm. "But, I don't know how to use it!" The bracelet glowed a bright yellow-orange and somehow moved by itself and dragged Sain along with it. "Huh?!" Sain shouted. The bracelet glowed a bright orange and its light became more focused.  
  
The man looked back and Sain. "Just as I thought. That's the one. Roland's Bracelet!"  
  
"Sain?" Rebecca said.  
  
The bracelet lifted Sain's arm up and moved it towards the General. "What- What's going on?!" His arm swung and connected with the General's armor.  
  
Ninis's Grace---Data Modification, complete  
  
Sain and Rebecca gasped in surprise. "What?" Sain asked.  
  
"A bard? The general morphed into a bard?!"  
  
Sain stared at the bracelet, which was still glowing. "The bracelet...You did this, didn't you?" He turned around where he last saw the red-haired guy. "Hey you. How did you know about the bracelet?" However, the guy disappeared. "Hey, where'd he go?"  
  
Rebecca looked around frantically. "What?! He couldn't have gone! I didn't thank him yet!"  
  
Sain looked at the spot where he once was. 'Who was that guy? And how did he know about my bracelet?'  
  
The bard looked around nervously and ran away. However, he was suddenly struck by a bolt of thunder and disappeared.  
  
"Did you do that, Rebecca?"  
  
"Nope, wasn't me!"  
  
"It was me!" An unknown girl walked in front of them and spoke up. She has dark-blue hair and carried a peculiar looking staff. She was wearing white robes tied together with a yellow bow and wore a long-eared cap on her head.  
  
"And you are?" Rebecca questioned.  
  
"Hey, can I have your e-mail address? You're pretty cute! And what's your name?" Sain said.  
  
The girl smiled and jumped in the air. "I'm Farina-chan! The Rare-Item Hunter of Love and Bravery!" She ran to Sain and Rebecca and started to speak rapidly. "You guys looked a bit lost, so I decided to help you out! And the experience and the extra gold were quite handy also! You don't mind if I took them, right?! Thanks!"  
  
Sain looked at the ground. "How lame...I didn't get a word of what she said. Is that even English?"  
  
Farina was currently talking to Rebecca, who was holding up her hands in front of her, trying to ward her away. She then spotted Sain's bracelet. "Oooh! What do we have here? What an unusual bracelet! I've never seen anything like it before! I can even smell the rarity!" She began to sniff the bracelet and began rubbing her cheek against it.  
  
Sain stared at her in surprise and nervousness. "H-hey!" He began backing away slowly.  
  
'Wait. And bracelet? Did Roland's character design come with that item?' Rebecca thought.  
  
"Oooh...I'm jealous. And on top of that, your character designs seem quite rare also. I want them!" He started to stare at Sain with stars in her eyes and she began drooling. Sain was staring at her like she was weird and tried to back away.  
  
'Great...Just our luck to come across and treasure and money hog.' Rebecca thought quietly to herself.  
  
_ The great thing about MMORPG's is that you can play your character any way you want. Rare-Item Hunters are people who play the game solely get as many rare items as possible.  
  
_ "Hey! I've got an idea! How about you two team up with me?!" Farina said.  
  
"What?!" Sain yelled.  
  
"Besides, I'm starting to like you guys! And your levels are low, right? Teaming up with me would be a good way to level up quickly!"  
  
"That is true..." Rebecca sighed.  
  
"Let me start again. My name is Farina, a Wavemaster. Will you join my party?"  
  
"Why not? We need a person who can cast spells, anyway. Okay, sure." Rebecca replied.  
  
Sain's Party  
  
Sain - **Level 1 Twin Blade**

Rebecca - **Level 1 Heavy Blade**

Farina - **Level 32 Wavemaster** (A/N: Dude, I'm guessing but she's really powerful and a friend told me this is a good level for her.)  
  
"I'm Rebecca! This is my brother Sain." Rebecca said as she gestured to Sain.  
  
"Er, hi?" Sain said.  
  
"Hello!" Farina said as she started to feel the bracelet again.  
  
'So many weird people...Is this what Elibe's all about?'  
  
_So that's what happened on my first online adventure. There were a lot of questions left unanswered, but my journey has only begun._  
  
"So, this used to be Roland's bracelet, huh?" Sain said as he looked at it again. While they were talking, someone else was watching them from above. The red-haired man was standing on a cliff that was behind them.  
  
"Roland and Kimaru. The players are new, but the mystery remains. What does this bode for the rest of Elibe?"  
  
_Hello Sain! Aren't you lucky that you receive your first e-mail from me, Farina-chan? ( ;)  
_ _I didn't win the limited edition characters, but I'm glad I got hold  
of some extremely valuable information--your e-mail address!   
Let's go on lots and lots of adventures together, okay? I can make a  
lot of money! And get a lot of rare items! _  
  
_BTW, as a special token of our first meeting, I'd like to invite you  
to my secret hideout---hee hee hee!! ( )  
Besides, I want to learn more about you!  
I'll be waiting!  
_  
_ Ja ne!  
Farina-chan_

* * *

Chris: Yay! I'm done!  
  
Mia: I think you copied too many things from the manga.  
  
Chris: I did not! I still have to keep the original storyline! Give me a break! R & R please!  
  
Farina: I'm in the story!  
  
Rebecca: I'm Sain's sister?! EWWWW! But still, R&R. 


	2. Sailor Fuku and Maid's Outfit

Chris: Yay! I feel like updating this fic! Okay, reader responses and then we can get straight to the story! Yep. And we get the cool Gaia Gardens scene! Which they took out of the anime. They shouldn't have done that. That was funny! I don't own FE or .hackLegend of the Twilight.  
  
**Yami no Kirbie**: Yep. Sain and Rebecca are siblings. It suits them. And Eliwood is Balmung...Yeah, and I'm not going to make him so comedy-ish...Sain is there for that. And Farina is great for Mireille. And I heard that the next volume is coming out in August...Which is so far away....But I'll be playing Tales of Symphonia while I wait.  
  
**LowenxRebecca luver**: Yes, I could have used siblings...But let's see...Ninian is Aura, so using them wouldn't have worked. Dart does not fit the personality of Shugo, who's a pervert. And there really aren't any other siblings in the game. So Sain was the likely choice for Shugo, and as for Rena....I just chose Rebecca because her personality is close.  
  
**Kiyoko-chan**: Yeah...But I changed the color of Balmung's armor...But you're right. Red and gray do not mix. And thanks for pointing out the Shugo thing...Totally missed that.  
  
**Alice Kaiba**: Thanks for the review. And the red-haired guy is Eliwood.  
  
_italics_ - Sain's note and announcement in the story and the ending e-mail  
  
" "- dialogue  
  
' ' - thoughts  
  
- location  
  
**bold** - Character class  
  
underline - note usually some comment or action that appears to explain stuff

* * *

Dark, Shadowy Room "Ninian?" A gruff voice echoed this word in the Pherae Corporation's Online Administration Room.  
  
"Yes sir. I've confirmed that there was a Category One contact between Ninian and a user." Eliwood faced the other people inside the room. They began voicing their opinions.  
  
"This is unexpected."  
  
"Most disturbing."  
  
"Most irregular."  
  
"Ninian's re-emergence is an ill omen. Do you not agree...System Administrator Eliwood?" They turned to face Eliwood again. He stayed silent and began checking a small computer screen.  
  
"We have run diagnostics on all of Elibe's servers. There is no trace of malfunction or virus." Eliwood's fingers sped across the keyboard as he read the different reports from all of the servers.  
  
"SILENCE! Have you forgotten what happened four years ago?! The Emblem Incident?" One of the businessmen yelled at Eliwood. "There damage. We cannot expose Elibe or its users to such an unstable element again!"  
  
"Fine then. Why don't you guys just look for yourselves? It would be easier to understand the ramifications from within Elibe if you just logged in." Eliwood voiced a suggestion but immediately knew that they would not take it.  
  
"We are not children anymore, Eliwood. We do not have time for games."  
  
"We are businessmen. Pure and simple."  
  
Eliwood sighed and smiled. 'Which means you're only interested in the user's money.' He turned around to leave. "I'm afraid other matters call to me at the moment. It is midnight and something requires my presence."  
  
"Eliwood! We are not finished yet! Get back here!"  
  
Eliwood turned back to face them. He bowed a little, hiding a smile on his face. "I'm sorry, but there are other duties I must attend to."  
  
"Other duties, Eliwood?"  
  
"I am a system administrator, you know. Without me to moderate things, your precious users will lose interest in the game. So, if you don't mind, I'll be on my way. We're having a special event today. Our users are waiting." He walked off with a backward wave and stepped in a portal.  
  
"....Very well."  
  
"Don't worry. I'll keep my eyes open." He winked, pressed a button, and disappeared.  
  
Farina's Secret Hideout  
  
Farina, Sain, and Rebecca sat cross-legged on the floor of Farina's hideout. It looked more like a warehouse. Various items were strewn across the room. All of the rare, or at Farina says so.  
  
"So those are the ultra-special, super-rare dot heroes characters, huh?" When Sain nodded, Farina folded her arms and nodded sagely. "I thought so. I could tell right away. I can smell rare things from miles off. I could always spot rare stuff, yep! I heard they were going to be given away. So you guys won them? You must feel pretty lucky, huh?"  
  
"Heh heh, yep." Rebecca blushed and smiled. Farina then started to rave about how she wanted them.  
  
"I tried to get them too. I guess I didn't win. I sure was pretty close. Maybe they'll do it again and I'll gain something cooler." She continued to rave hysterically, extremely disappointed that she didn't receive such a rare prize. While she was talking, Sain was looking around. He saw this weird figurine that had big ears and a goofy smile.  
  
'What the heck is that...?' He slowly backed away from it. He turned to look at his bracelet and held it to his face. "We're supposed to look like the dot heroes, right? Then how come all of these weird things are happening to me? Who was that Ninian girl and why'd she give me this bracelet? And more importantly, why haven't any girls offered to take me on dates?!" He started sobbing.  
  
"There, there brother. Maybe that Ninian girl was going to ask you on a date." Rebecca moved to Sain's side and began comforting him.  
  
'That's right! I forgot all about Ninian's kiss!' Sain immediately stopped crying and began imagining the time when they would go out together.  
  
"Hmm...I don't know why Ninian gave you that bracelet. Maybe it was a user-specific event." Farina looked thoughtful.  
  
"User-specific event?" Rebecca looked at Farina. Her eyes lit with a new fire and she pointed at Sain and Rebecca.  
  
"Yeah! Maybe these limited-edition characters come with some scenarios related to the original dotheroes! Your vision might be a clue in solving Elibe's final mystery! And think of all the money and treasure there is going to be!" The fire in her eyes died out shortly after that, though. "Or you could have been hit with a virus or something. I don't know. It's all speculation, after all."  
  
Rebecca thought about it, her hand on her chin. "But then, if what you say is true...Sain's bracelet could be the key to unlocking that mystery!"  
  
Sain shook his head. "Now I'm confused. What mystery?"  
  
Farina just shrugged." Well, I knew what is was, it wouldn't be a mystery, would it? Y'know? I doubt anyone knows it. Maybe not even Elibe's creators."  
  
Rebecca gasped. I bet these characters are part of a whole global event in the game!"  
  
Farina nodded. "Probably so. Maybe the legend of the dot heroes can finally come to an end."  
  
'Hmm...I bet that if I can just get the hang of this hero business, babes will flock to my side! I'll have more dates than I know what to do with!' Sain sat thinking and drool was slowly coming out of his mouth.  
  
'What wonderful insider information! If I stick with them, money, rare items, and mucho experience points are sure to follow!' Farina gripped her stave harder and a dark gleam was coming from her eyes. "Muahahaha..."  
  
Rebecca noticed this and slowly edged away from them. 'With team members like these, who needs enemies? They're so shallow....' She shuddered.  
  
"You have mail." A toneless voice spoke and a small envelope appeared over Farina's head. Everyone turned to Farina.  
  
"Why is there a letter floating over your head?" Sain asked her.  
  
"Oh, that? It just means that I have flash mail." Farina pulled it down from over her head an opened it. "Oh, this is interesting. It's from my friend, Lyn."  
  
"Whoa....You have friends?" Sain asked in surprise.  
  
"Of course! Rare item hunters have to be very connected." Rebecca replied. "Information is crucial."  
  
"No way..." Farina deleted the e-mail and stood up. She turned to them frantically. "Come on! There's no time to waste! We need to head to the Central Plaza immediately!" Within seconds, she was already out of the door and speeding to the plaza.  
  
"Central Plaza? How come?" Sain said as she just started to leave. She sped right out of the door. "Holy cow, she's fast."  
  
"I don't know what that was all about, but we'd better follow her." Rebecca replied. They both ran to the plaza, where Farina was waiting for them.  
  
"Gasp....We made it..." Sain wheezed as he leaned on his knees for support.  
  
"Farina...Can you tell us...why we're here?" Rebecca asked between pants of breath. She pointed up at a screen in the middle of the plaza.  
  
"Look over there! They're announcing a side quest! We made it just in time!" Sain, Farina, and Rebecca gathered together to see what was going to be posted. Sain continuously kept getting jostled.  
  
"Dude...What's with the crowd?" He said as people kept pushing him.  
  
"Whatever they're about to announce must be pretty important..." Rebecca said. She was very uncomfortable, considering tons of people were around her.  
  
"Here it comes..." Out of all of them, Farina was probably the only one who was not uncomfortable. Probably because she was too obsessed with treasure.  
  
_201X / X / X 0:15 Subject: Valentine's Day Sender: Eliwood_

_ To: All  
  
Come one and all to the abundant garden of Ostia in celebration of the  
Day of Love! The first 100 players to solve my challenge will receive  
an ultra-rare artifact, guaranteed to enhance one's love life. This  
special side quest lasts today only!  
  
And remember, a beet is neat, but a gourd is adored.  
  
Lord Eliwood  
System Administrator_  
  
The moment Farina finished reading the message, her eyes changed into little dollar signs and made little ka-ching sounds in her mind. Rebecca and Sain had just finished reading the message as well.  
  
"Ah, so it's a single-day event." Rebecca noted.  
  
"Argh! Again with the geek jargon! Can't you just explain it in English?!" Sain shouted.  
  
Rebecca slapped her hand to her face. She sighed, put her hand down, and faced Sain. "Come on...Isn't it obvious enough? It lasts for a single day. When the day is over, the event is done. Anyone can join, though. And the prizes are usually very rare."  
  
Farina spun around to face them, the little dollar signs still in her eyes. "Well then?! What are you waiting for?!" She sped off towards the Dragon's Gate to head for the Ostia Garden.

"Geez..." Sain looked at her rapidly shrinking shadow and sighed.  
  
"There she goes again..." Rebecca sighed as well. "We might as well follow her. You never know when a rare item might come in handy." With that, they slowly followed Farina to the Dragon's Gate. On the way, Sain voiced his opinion.  
  
"She does realize that we're the heroes in this story, right? It's too bad her personality is so strong...She's really cute, otherwise...I wouldn't mind making whoopee with her!" He said. Rebecca whacked him on the head for that improper comment and dragged him off.  
  
Ostia Gardens  
  
Rebecca, Farina, and Sain appeared in the Ostia Gardens. Immediately, Farina began to look around for the treasure.  
  
"Show me the treasure!" She screamed as she raced around. Rebecca was a little calmer.  
  
"Hm...So what's the quest? This just looks like an ordinary garden." Farina didn't share her opinion about this being an ordinary garden, however.  
  
"Where's the rare item?! Gimme, gimme, gimme!" She raced around, searching for a treasure box.  
  
Rebecca put her hands to her ears, trying to block out the sound. "Geez...The only rare things when she's around is peace and quiet." Sain continued to look around. He spotted a leafy stalk growing from the ground.  
  
"Hm? A radish?" He stepped closer to it. 'I wonder...What if it screams at me if I try to pull it out? Could it be some sort of monster?' He grasped the stalk of the radish and got ready to pull. "Well, here goes." He pulled hard and a giant heart-shaped radish flew out with him and landed at his feet. "Whoa!" Rebecca and Farina rushed over to see what Sain had.  
  
"What's that? A heart-shaped veggie?" Rebecca asked.  
  
Farina snapped her fingers. "I've got it! Sain, don't move!" She pulled out her staff and angled it at the radish. "Hiyahhh!" She stabbed downwards toward the radish, and Sain.  
  
"Gah! No!" Sain said in fear, trying to escape. Farina stabbed the radish in half, thankfully missing Sain. He shuddered in horror as Farina screamed in triumph. A treasure box had appeared where the radish had been.  
  
"Now I get it! This is a treasure-hunting minigame!" She clasped her hands with joy and began jumping around. While she was doing that, Sain was sobbing in fear and terror and Rebecca was trying to comfort him.  
  
"Sc-Scary....So scary, Sis..." Sain said between sobs. "I thought she was going to kill me!"  
  
"There, there. Everything's okay. Will big bro feel better if sissy-wis gets him a rare item, too?" Rebecca continued to try to calm Sain down. Meanwhile, Farina had rushed up to the treasure box.  
  
"Dibs on the rare item! Tee hee!" Farina squealed as she open the box. Inside was a piece of paper. She looked at it quizzically. "What's this? Just a piece of paper?" She picked it up and read it. Her eyes widened in shock because the note said, "Sorry, try again!"  
  
Near Farina, Rebecca had found her own treasure box. When she opened it, she heard a strange ticking noise. It got louder and Rebecca realized that the treasure box contained dynamite! She realized this too late because the box exploded a couple of seconds after she had opened it. They all flew into the air and landed on the ground with a thump. Rebecca let out a small groan.  
  
"Do rare items explode?"  
  
"That was a trap, you moron!" Farina yelled at her in frustration as she spotted another 'Try again.' letter fall down. "Who planned this stupid event anyway?!" She swung her staff around in anger.  
  
Rebecca picked herself up and brushed all of the dirt off. "I think I saw his name on the announcement. Eliwood, wasn't it? I remember hearing about him. He used to be a regular player. Now he's an administrator. He loves holding these weird events."  
  
"He must be weird himself..." Farina said without much thought.  
  
"I'll bet he looks like this!" Rebecca had drawn a figure of what she thought Eliwood looked in real life. It showed him as a fat, sweaty nerd who was always panting and wore thick glasses. Farina applauded her artwork.  
  
"Right, right!" She continued to clap with a smile on her face. "Not like I've actually seen him." She mumbled. Sain edged away from them.  
  
'They're scaring me....I feel for you, Eliwood.' Sain tried to slowly hide from the two girls as they looked at Rebecca's ugly drawing of Eliwood. They added some more insults about how he looked in real like. Like the fact that he was bald and stuff. Somewhere else, Eliwood sneezed.  
  
Finally, they finished with the picture of Eliwood and grabbed Sain by his wrists. They dragged him off to other parts of the garden.  
  
"Come on, Sain! Get up!" Rebecca shouted, her spirit restored.  
  
"Let's go find the booty, booty, booty!" Farina yelled, still dragging Sain along.  
  
'I want to go home...' Sain just let himself be dragged along, and sighed.  
  
A couple of hours later, they all lay on a mound of cut radishes, tired and frustrated. There were empty treasure boxes everywhere and Farina was running out of patience. "We've checked all of them! And nothing! At this rate, we won't even make the top 100...It's not fair!!!"  
  
Rebecca was checking another item box that had the same message on it. "Try Again." She threw it away and sat down. "What are we doing wrong? Maybe we're in the wrong area?"  
  
"N-No...I don't think so. Let me see...I've got the announcement right here..." She brought up the screen that contained the announcement. She scanned it carefully. "Hamm...Garden of Ostia...Right place...Hm? What's this mean?" She spotted something at the end of the announcement. They read it carefully. As for Sain, he was leaning against a radish, groaning with hunger.  
  
"Remember...A beet is neat, but a gourd is adored." Farina pondered this and wondered what it meant. Rebecca came up with the answer.  
  
"A gourd? Like a pumpkin?" She mused, thinking about it. Sain's head shot up when he heard the word, pumpkin, and he immediately began thinking about pumpkin pie. Rebecca and Farina raced in the same direction. Sain decided to follow them.  
  
"Hey! What's going on?!" He said as he ran with them.  
  
"Quickly! Find a pumpkin!" Farina shouted behind her. "We need a pumpkin! I'm sure of it!"  
  
"A pumpkin?" Sain asked. However, his questions wasn't answered...probably because it was rhetorical. Anyway, his keen eyes spotted a pumpkin in front of them and he ran towards it. "There!"  
  
Farina reached it first and lifted it to the sky. "I am the Pumpkin Queen! Rare item for me!" The pumpkin glowed white, however, and when Sain and Rebecca reached it, it exploded and smoke covered them.  
  
"Hey Farina! Where are you?" Sain shouted. The smoke cleared quickly, though, and they could clearly see where everyone was. Of course, they could spot the Paladin a lot better.  
  
"M-My precious pumpkin!" Farina wailed.  
  
"The pumpkin! It turned into a Paladin!" Rebecca shouted as they turned to face this new foe. The words, Battle Mode, flashed across their eyes.  
  
"All right! That means we just have to defeat this monster! This will be a piece of cake!" Farina said as she readied her staff. "Easy as pumpkin pie! One spell should do it!" Sain stopped her, though.  
  
"Not so fast! This looks like the job for a hero. And word on the street is that ol'Roland here's got heroism in spades!" Sain pulled his arm back, getting ready to unleash the power of his bracelet.  
  
'Oh, Sain, not again.' Rebecca thought as she watched her brother get ready to attack.  
  
'This could get interesting. I'd like to see the bracelet in action.' Farina watched as Sain got ready to attack. "Go for it, Mr. Hero! I've got your back!"  
  
"Take...this!" Sain swung the bracelet at the Paladin with all his might. It let out a small poof and a tiny cloud of air flew from it. Nothing else happened. They all exclaimed in surprise and astonishment.  
  
"Huh?! What went wrong?! What did I do wrong?" Sain yelled.  
  
"What?! That's it?!" Farina jumped up in surprise. She was expecting a lot more than a soft poof.  
  
"Oh Sain...How embarrassing..." Rebecca sighed and stared at the ground.  
  
"What went wrong? My bracelet is supposed to weaken the monster, right?" Sain was extremely confused because this had never happened before. The Paladin just looked nervous at the fact that he felt really out of place. Farina stepped up and shoved Sain aside.  
  
"That's it. I'll do it! Maj Lei!" Farina cast her spell but nothing happened to the Paladin. "Er...Hey! Where's my spell?!"  
  
Sain groaned and collapsed to the ground. "Ugh...I don't feel so good....I think I've been cursed..." He struggled to stand. 'No way! Is this another effect of the bracelet?!" He turned around to where his sister was. "Rebecca...I'm sorry...I let you dow--"  
  
Rebecca was not where Sain thought she was. She was in the arms of the Paladin, holding him. "Hello, handsome. Just take me!"  
  
"Rebecca!" Sain screamed in horror at the sight of his sister holding the Paladin.  
  
"It's useless. She's totally charmed." Farina looked at Rebecca with an expression of nonchalance. Sain didn't take it that way.  
  
"Yo, paladin!" He whipped out the twin blades at his sides. "Get your mitts off my sis!" He charged at the Paladin. "Hi-ya!" He brought his blades above his head and with one swift stroke, killed the paladin and breaking the spell that was over Rebecca. He looked at the dead body of the Paladin. "I...I...I did it! All right! I did it!"  
  
"Good work, Sain! You don't totally suck, after all!" Farina cheered. Rebecca stood up, a dazed look in her eyes. The Paladin dissolved into dust and where it had lain, a treasure chest appeared. Farina ran past everyone and reached the chest.  
  
"Yay! Rare item! I called dibs!" She began to hug the treasure chest and squeeze it. Sain turned away from her and looked at his blades.  
  
'Tch...Why didn't I think of that before? I'm a fighter, right? A Twin Blade. Of course I should start off with some weapons.' His gaze shifted to the bracelet. 'Still, what happened with the bracelet? I've got a feeling that it's the bracelet's fault that started everything going." He turned back to Farina.  
  
Rebecca now kneeled next to her, curious to find out what the treasure is. "I wonder what the treasure is? Something to make Valentine's Day more romantic..."  
  
"It's so rare I can already taste it!" Farina squealed in reply. She opened in the chest, and lo and behold, if was filled with clothes.  
  
"Clothes?!?"  
  
"What the? Is that it?!"  
  
Rebecca lifted some of the clothes that were at top and looked in deeper. "No way!" She pulled out the various items of clothing that were inside the chest. "Sailor Fuku?! A Maid's Outfit?! Cat Ears?! Knee-High Socks? Dude, these are so lame!"  
  
Sain looked at the Sailor Fuku [1] and let out a small gurgling noise. Rebecca looked at the various clothes with disgust plain on her features. Farina was holding the clothes and laughing insanely. "I'll take them all if you don't want any!"  
  
"You're not actually planning to wear these, are you?" Rebecca shouted at Farina.  
  
"Of course not! But a rare item's a rare item!" She replied happily.  
  
'Yeah...Who would want to wear this stuff?' He looked at the clothes and imagined what Rebecca would look like in the Sailor Fuku and what Farina looked like in the Maid's Outfit and Cat Ears. What he saw gave him a nosebleed and he collapsed.  
  
"Sain?" Rebecca looked at her brother. "Oh well. Geez! What kind of administrator is Eliwood? Don't they screen administrators?! He stinks!"  
  
Sain was chuckling from the ground. 'I know how you feel, Eliwood. Heh heh.'  
  
"So you're saying that I can have them, right?" Farina asked Sain.  
  
"Oh yeah. Sure. You can have them. No problem." He said as he got up.  
  
"Thank you so much, Sainypums! You were amazing! I shall always treasure these as your Valentine's gift to me!" She kissed him lightly and walked off.  
  
"Heh heh...Yeah. No problem." Sain was blushing as he stared at Farina. Rebecca was to his right, angry at her brother. When Farina was some distance away, she chuckled.  
  
"Muahahah....Men...So easy to manipulate." She then walked off with her treasure.  
  
"Stupid Sain! How could you ignore your sister on Valentine's Day! A girl has feelings too, you know!" Rebecca was yelling at Sain and shook her hand at him.  
  
"But...Rebecca...Er..." Sain was at a loss for words.  
  
Quest Results  
  
Sain has gained a level.  
  
Rebecca has gained a level.  
  
Items obtained: Sailor Fuku, Maid's Uniform, Cat Ears  
  
Team Levels  
  
Sain - **Level 2 Twin Blade  
**  
Rebecca - **Level 2 Heavy Blade**  
  
Farina - **Level 32 Wavemaster**

Meanwhile, Eliwood was reading a magazine. "Were my prizes really that horrible? Those fashions were really popular in all of the magazines I've read." He was kind of missing the point.  
  
_ Erk,  
  
How are the preparations coming along for the Cherry Blossom Festival  
event? Do we have those new items yet? If those programmers are giving  
you trouble, let me know--I have my methods of persuading them.  
  
During my last event I was able to confirm the identities of those who  
were playing as the dot heroes. I'm almost certain Ninian has  
contacted one of them. We must continue to monitor them closely. We don't  
want another...incident.  
  
Eliwood  
Pherae Corp.  
Network Administrator  
_

* * *

Chris: Finally. I'm done. Anyway, I'll try to update as soon as I can since Summer Vacation has come at last. Please Read and Review and tell me if I need to change anything. Yeah...This was long....  
  
[1] - Sailor Fuku is like a Japanese schoolgirl's outfit. That's basically it. 


	3. The Cherry Blossoms and Sake

Chris: Wow. I'm updating this faster. Well, just because this is easier to type since I'm getting most of the stuff from the manga. But it's an FE version. Review responses then it's on with the story! And Lyn, I mean Ouka, comes in! Yay! And I miss my muse peoples...Stupid 

**SamMas666**: Well, since took off my Fire Emblem Training Camp, I can't really update it. I doubt you'll see it again. Maybe the Mole stories will be up in story format, but as to the Training Camps, that's a little iffy. I doubt it. I might, if enough people annoy me.

**Maniac-Miko**: Wow...Thanks for all of the compliments. They really made my day, you know.

**Picup**: Hehehehe, thanks for the review. And yeah...Uh. Go FFX! Blitzball is fun.

**Kiyoko-chan**: Yep. It did take me a long time to get this chapter up...Really.

**Silver Shadow**: Well, you'll just have to find out who Ouka is going to be! Wait, I already said it...Oh well! And yeah, Farina fits Mireille really well...It's kind of scary.

**Alice Kaiba**: Thanks for the compliments and the stuff about my casting. And Erk is good as Reki. They're both very obedient and strict, and they both get embarrassed a lot.

**Black-D**: Thanks a lot! And you're just going to have to find out who Kamui is! Let me give you a hint. The person playing her has blond hair, just like Kamui does in the anime...Which is kind of weird...But, oh well!

Chris: And before I forget, this is the sake quote one! Woo hoo! The Sake Quote rules! Oh, and I don't own Fire Emblem, .hackLegend of the Twilight, and the Sake Quote, although I wish I owned the Sake Quote. That quote is so cool...

_italics_ - Sain's note and announcement in the story and ending e-mail thing

""- dialogue

' ' - thoughts or name

-= =-- location

**bold** - Character class

underline - note usually some comment or action that appears to explain stuff

* * *

-=Pherae=-

_ My name is Sain and I'm 17 years old. About a month ago my sister Rebecca introduced me to the online game, Elibe. We're playing as the legendary heroes, the dot heroes. Hmm...Needs a better name. I'll think of one later. Anyway, a generation ago those characters went on a great adventure--now we have a major adventure of our own!_

"So, Sain, are you getting the hang of the game?" Rebecca leaned towards her brother as they walked through the streets of Pherae with Farina.

"Haha! You bet! It's a lot more fun than I expected!" Sain was exceptionally happy, part of it due to the fact that he thought the game was a blast. The other part was that he had gone on when Rebecca wasn't around and got the phone numbers and e-mail addresses of some girls in Elibe and found out a few of them lived close to him. Whistling a happy tune, he imagined what those girls looked like in real life.

"I told you so!" Rebecca clapped her hands together and faced Farina. "So, where should we go?"

"Ooh! Ooh! I know the perfect place, guys!" Farina twirled in a little circle and pointed at them. "I paid a little money, but I've got the inside scoop! It's time for the Annual Cherry Blossom festival! Word is, something big is going down this year! Come on! Let's get to the Dragon's Gate and go!" Farina sped off and dragged Rebecca and Sain with them.

-=Caelin Cherry Blossom Maze=-

After Rebecca and Sain brushed themselves off, they gazed around in wonder of the cherry blossoms hanging from the trees. Well, except for Sain. He just looked bored with the surroundings and he cleared his throat. "I don't see what's so special."

The other two ignored him and started chatting with each other. "Wow, Farina! This is great! It's so pink!" Rebecca continued to walk around, her eyes shining as she saw all of the cherry blossoms falling around her.

"Yeah, of course! The cherry blossoms here are said to be very famous! And very valuable in some areas, too. Heh heh heh..." Farina was busy picking up the cherry blossoms that had fallen down and were stuffing them in her bag when Sain continued his criticism of the area.

"I mean, it's all just CG. The poly counts totally suck and the area feels a little laggy." Sain brought his hand up to his chin and closed his eyes like he was thinking. However, at that moment, a fierce wind blew up.

"Eeek! The wind!" Sain spun around and saw two girls having trouble keeping their dresses down in the wind. Blood spurted out of his nose as their dresses flew up again and he caught a glimpse of their panties. He continued to ogle at the girls.

'Ooooh! Bump Mapping! Now that's good use of technology!" Sain was smiling happily, even though blood was streaming down his face. Rebecca glared at her brother and shook a finger at him.

"Don't be such a perv, Sain!" Rebecca continued to glare at her brother. Farina turned away and shrugged.

"Hey, he's a guy. What'd you expect? Anyway, you two enjoy the scenery! I'm going to go check out the shops! New shops mean new items! Stake out a good spot for us at the festival, okay?!" Farina dashed off to the nearest item shop, which was labeled, 'Rare Items 'R Us!'

"That's so like her...What a pair of one-track minds." Rebecca turned away from Sain and watched as Farina rummaged through the items that were in that store. Another breeze blew through and the two girls blushed as their dresses flew up again.

"Oops! There goes the wind again. Hee hee." The girls walked off while Sain was gazing at them. He continued to gaze at them, blood still pouring from his nose.

"Duh huh....Panties...Duh..." There was some drool falling out of Sain's mouth as he watched them leave. Rebecca let out an angry sigh and clenched her fist.

"Let's get moving, panty-boy." She smacked Sain on the head and proceeded to drag him away. Grumbling, she dragged Sain to where she had chosen a spot for the festival and plopped him on the ground. Then she proceeded to lecture him as Sain rubbed his head. "Seriously bro, we're supposed to be heroes! Can you try a little harder to act like one and fulfill your legacy?! That means no more peeking! Got it?!" Rebecca unfolded the blanked they had brought. "Come on, grab a corner, peeky Mc. Staresalot!"

"Yeah, yeah." Sain grabbed a corner and helped Rebecca set the blanket on the ground. When that was done, Rebecca continued to lecture him.

"And it's not just about looking the part. You have to feel the part, also! You need to become a hero from the inside out!" Rebecca thought of Sain as how she wanted him to look like. Dashing, handsome, and typical hero-guy like.

'Hey, even heroes were perverted, right?' Sain caught a glimpse of Rena's vision and grumbled. "Who's that supposed to be?"

"PROMISE?!" Rebecca stood over her brother and glared fiercely at him. Sain stared at the ground and nodded.

"Okay! I get it!" Sain continued to look at the ground, slightly ashamed of himself. "You know, the ground is really well-rendered. Nice texture, too." He mumbled under his breath about the ground and how it was unfair how he couldn't act like he always did. 'I just wish she'd lighten up some of the time. She takes this hero thing so seriously...'

While he was moping, he noticed that there was a paw on the blanket. Turning around, he saw a dog with small tattoos on its legs. The dog had green fur, which was slightly unusual, considering they were in a game, and also had teal colored eyes. Sain's eyes widened and they sparkled a bit. "Hey Rebecca! Look at this!"

"What?" Rebecca turned around from setting the food and spotted the dog as well.

"A DOGGIE!" Almost if it understood Sain, the dog's ears flattened and it adopted a sort of irritated gaze in its eyes. Sain leaped for the dog and began rubbing noses with it.

"Where'd you come from, boy?!" Sain continued to play with the dog and Rebecca answered his question.

"It doesn't look like a monster...Maybe it's an NPC? And I think it's a girl. By the way--"NPC" stands for Non-Player Character. It's a computer-controlled character." Rebecca adopted a teacher like pose, but then noticed that Sain wasn't paying any attention to her. She dropped her head in defeat. "He wasn't listening..." Sain was busy playing with the dog in his lap and didn't hear that either.

"He's so cute! Can we keep him, 'Sis?! Oooh, thasa a good boy. Who's a good boy? You're a good boy!" Sain was busy petting him and letting the dog lick him in the face. Sain was laughing while he was petting the dog and Rebecca looked at him with dismay in her eyes.

"Well...I don't think you can raise dogs in Elibe. I don't think they've introduced a dog trainer class." Sain didn't seem to hear her again, so she let out another sigh and looked at him again. "I know Sain likes dogs, but c'mon! Are you listening to a word I'm saying, 'bro?!" As she finished that sentence, the dog leaped over Sain and crashed into Rebecca and started to lick her repeatedly. Rebecca sat on the ground, surprised, but then opened up to the friendly dog and began to pet the dog as much as Sain had. Soon she was laughing while the dog continued to lick her.

"D-Doggie? I'm jealous!" Sain stood to the side, surprised and saddened that the dog decided to play with his sister instead of him.

While Sain and Rena were playing with the dog, Eliwood was sitting besides a tree near them. He had a small wine glass and a bottle labeled, 'Elibe Premier Sake'. He took a big sip and looked at the scenery. "Ah, the cherry blossoms look even better this year. I'd better give the programmers a bonus."

"Eliwood-san! I've been looking all over for you!" Erk appeared next to Eliwood, leaning on the tree and holding a book in his hands. "The suits are looking for you."

"Just ignore them. You shouldn't take everything to seriously, Erk." He gazed into his wine glass and then back at Erk.

"Have you been drinking, Eliwood-san? I didn't know they had programmed sake." Erk let out a small sigh and shook his head. "What's the point? It's not like you can get a buzz from virtual sake anyway."

"Don't spoil my fantasy!" Eliwood rose up and suddenly became very serious. "I always drink sake at the Cherry Blossom festival! I don't care if the buzz isn't real--I CAN ROLE-PLAY BEING DRUNK!" [1] That being said, he sat back down and drank more of his virtual sake. Erk rubbed the back of his head and turned away from Eliwood.

"If this is so important to you, then why don't you just go to the festival in the real world?" Erk shrugged and turned back to Eliwood.

"You don't have to rub it in. I'm just killing time before I hand my report to the suits." Eliwood leaned back against the tree and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder what will happen today."

Back with Sain and Rebecca, they were still busy playing with the dog. Sain grinned at his sister while she was scratching the dog's neck. "See? I knew you would have more fun if you just loosened up!"

Rebecca smiled at her brother has began to play a new game with the dog. Sain held out a hand in front of the dog and shook it around a little. "Shake!" The dog put its paw on top of Sain's hand. Sain gave a happy laugh and repeated the command again.

"Oooh! You're so smart, you! Oh yes you are! If you were a real dog, I'd give you a bone right now!" Sain reached out and gave the dog another big hug around its neck. The dog made a little choking sound and Sain released it, blushing slightly.

"Heh heh...Yeah." Rebecca looked at her brother and smiled. Sain was rummaging through his pack to see if there was something that he could give to the dog.

"There must be something in here I can give you! One of these? Or maybe this? Do dogs like health drinks?" The dog looked quizzically at Sain as he looked through his items and then let out a big yawn. Rebecca suddenly remembered something and clapped her hands together.

"Oh yeah! That's it! I've got just the thing! Wait a minute." She took out a small collar from her pocket and held it out. "Farina gave this to me! It's perfect for the dog. Why don't you try it on?" She handed the collar to Sain, who placed it around the dog's neck. It fit perfectly, and Sain and Rebecca let out appreciative gasps of surprise.

"Oooh! It's a perfect fit!" Sain smiled and clapped his hands together.

"Kawaii! So cute!" Rebecca was also happy that the collar looked so good on the dog, and let out an appropriate squeal of happiness.

Sain went up to Rebecca and whispered in her ear. "What was Farina doing with a collar anyway?"

"I have no clue." Rebecca answered Sain back and imagined what Farina would say. 'Hey! That was pretty expensive collar you know!' Rebecca nodded at her thought. That sounded like Farina to her. Sain went back to hugging the dog and Rebecca smiled again.

"Aren't you a handsome doggie?!" Sain was back to rubbing their noses together as he hugged the dog.

'Sain looks so happy. It's too bad mom won't let him keep a real dog. I shouldn't have snapped at him earlier. Now that I think of it, when we were little, I remember him bringing home a stray dog and taking care of it in secret. I really love my brother...He has such a good heart.' Rebecca grinned at her brother as she looked at him. Sain noticed her and turned to her.

"What are you looking at?" Sain looked puzzled, but Rebecca just grinned and shrugged it off.

"Ah...It's nothing." Rebecca smiled at her brother again. Suddenly, the dog sniffed the air and started to dig into the ground.

"Hey, whatcha got there, boy? You want us to dig?" Sain looked interested. The dog pointed a paw into the hole it had dug, and Sain suddenly whipped out a shovel.

"Right here, you say? I'm an expert digger! I'm a digging machine!"

"Maybe we'll get a rare item, Sain! But if this is a treasure-finding dog, we'd better not let Farina find out or else we'll never get a moment's peace. And where'd you get the shovel?" Rebecca looked joyful at the prospect of getting another rare item, but she dreaded what would happen if Farina found out. Finally, after some digging, Sain's shovel finally hit something.

"Hmm? Something's here!" Sain dug a little more and uncovered what he had found. It was a pile of bones, and Sain and Rebecca leaped in surprise of the discovery. Well, surprise or horror. One of those two...Probably horror.

"It's a dead guy! Quick, call the cops!" Sain stood horrified as the dog sniffed at the bones.

"T-Take it e-easy, S-Shugo! I-It's j-just a g-game!" Rebecca stuttered out a couple of reassuring words, but they didn't help much. The dog stopped sniffing at the bones and got on in its mouth. It slowly walked away, chewing on the bone happily. Sain spotted it and reprimanded it.

"N-No! Bad doggie! Don't eat dead people! Come back here, boy! Put that bone back!"

"My bone....Give me back my bone!" Suddenly, the pile of bones formed together to form a skeleton that leaped at Sain.

He dodged out of the way, screaming, "Bwa! Dead skeletons!"

Erk and Eliwood were watching this occurrence from behind their tree. "It's actually quite common for dead skeletons to be buried under cherry trees." Eliwood sipped more of his sake as he grinned at Sain and Rebecca.

"Uh...Yeah, but do they usually attack the picnickers? Geez, only you would plan an event like this..." Erk looked at the ground and sighed. 'I really hate my job...'

"Sain! We're surrounded! Help!" Rebecca looked for a way to escape as more Skeletons popped out of the ground and faced them. Sain raised his left arm and held the bracelet.

"There's too many of them! I'll have to use the bracelet!" Sain got ready to use it, but Rebecca clonked him on the head.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!! What if you fail again?! Who knows what might happen?!" Rebecca yelled at Sain, explaining the reasons why they would be doomed if Sain tried to use the bracelet.

"But there's so many of them! We've got to try something!" Sain tried to persuade Rebecca to let him use it. Actually, he had gotten to like the little shaft of light that appeared earlier so he hoped it would happen again.

"It's not worth the risk! Remember what happened last time? If you jinx our character statuses, we're as good as dead!"

"Oh, boo hoo...Don't tell me it's cursed...It's the mark of a hero and its super rare...Why does it have to be cursed?! Without this, I'd be nobody! I'm only level 2! Without this, I wouldn't get babes, I wouldn't get dates, and I wouldn't get e-mail addresses. Boo hoo..."

"Shugo! Watch out! Behind you!" Sain dodged just as a skeleton's sword crashed right next to him.

"On your right!"

"I've got it!" Sain dodged again as another sword missed him by inches. Sain jumped out of the way, and landed safely nearby. "Thanks Rebecca!"

"Uh...It wasn't me..." Rebecca pointed downward at something as Sain turned around.

"Huh? Then who was it? It sounded like a girl....Was it Farina?" Sain turned around and spotted who Rebecca was pointing at.

"Er...It was me." The dog spoke as it raised a paw in the air. There was a second of stunned silence, and then Sain jumped backwards.

"The doggie talked! And he's a girl!"

Rebecca waved him off a little and replied. "Well, we are in a game, remember? It's not that unusual to meet a talking dog. And I told you it was a she." Rebecca turned back to the dog. "But, if you can speak, does that mean you're a player character? Or an NPC?"

The dog smiled and grinned at them. "I'm sorry, but it was too much fun to see what you guys would do. I couldn't resist. But enough chit-chat. Let's take care of these monsters, shall we?" She placed her paws on the ground, and soon she transformed from a dog to a woman with short dark-green hair, a short green skirt, a white fur stole around her shoulders, and bandages around her breasts. Sain gaped at her clothing and soon more blood was spurting out of his nose. Rebecca conked him on the head again and turned back to the woman. Sain shook his head and stared again.

"Doggie transformed?! Doggie's a babe?!" Sain gaped at her again. Meanwhile, some more of the skeletons had arisen and were rising up behind the doggie-woman.

"Give back...my bone!" The skeleton launched his arm at the woman from behind. She turned and held the skeleton's arm.

"...Is this the best you boneheads can do?" She grinned and squeezed down on the bone, which snapped into tiny shards. "Pretty fragile, ain'tcha?" She then leaped up into a kick and knocked the skeleton into a tree. "Hi-ya!"

"So strong..." Rebecca stared in awe and the woman beat up the skeleton into tiny bits.

"M-More like...so scary!" Sain was shaking in fear as he watched her. The woman stretched her around a little and walked up to the rest of the skeletons.

"Enough playing around. Let me show you what I really can do!" She cracked her knuckles and leaped into the fray of Skeletons. Bones, skulls, and various other body bones flew into the air as the skeletons were defeated and crushed into bits by this unknown woman. Sain shuddered in fear again as he watched the gruesome demise of the skeletons.

'I don't know what's scarier...The dead skeletons or doggie girl!' Moments passed as the woman finished beating the other skeletons into submission. Soon, Farina came back and was singing a little song about this new item that she bought.

"My new treasure has a first name, it's R-A-R-E!" Then she came upon the remains of where the woman was fighting. There were bone remains everywhere and all of the cherry blossoms were either destroyed or they had fallen to the ground. Also, a small pyramid of skulls had been built near a tree.

"Hmmm? What's this? Somebody upload a Nightmare before Christmas mod?" Farina stared at the remains of the skeletons and the cherry trees with a blank look on her face. The woman who had killed all of the skeletons turned to Farina.

"Oh! Farina!"

"Lyn! Long time no see! You just get here?" Farina rushed up to Lyn with her new item in hand.

"Well, you've been bragging so much about your new friends that I just had to come and check them out! I've missed you too!" Lyn grinned at Farina. Sain stared at Farina, dumbfounded.

"Farina...That dog...I mean, dog-girl...She's your friend?!"

"Yup! Lyn and I go waaaay back!" Farina turned to Sain and smiled.

'Well, that explains a lot.' Rebecca stared at Farina, a mixture a learning and awe in her features.

"Aren't you going to introduce her?" Sain looked at Farina, who nodded.

"The name's Lyn! I'm a career Werewolf! Pleased ta meet 'cha!"

Lyn** - Level 73 Werewolf** (Hey, she's uber. This is pretty much accurate.)

"A Werewolf?! I didn't know you could choose that as a career!" Rebecca looked at Lyn in surprise.

"It's part of the Elibe Expansion Pack! It's a special edition class for high-level players!" Farina gave Lyn a big hug. "My ultra-rare friendy-wend!"

"There are a lot of requirements so not a lot of people qualify. That's why you don't see much of us." Lyn grinned at Rebecca and let out a small squeak of surprise as Farina hugged her. "Oh, my!"

Rebecca scanned her memory of where she had heard the name Lyn before. "Oh, now I remember! You're Lyn, the Blade Lord! You're one of the most powerful fighters around!"

"Just call me Lyn. Any friend of Farina's is a friend of mine!" She winked at Rebecca then turned to Sain. She walked up to him and grinned. "Ah, so this is the lucky boy whose face I licked! It's always nice to meet a fellow animal lover!" Sain started in surprise as she addressed him. Lyn moved closer to Sain and moved her face close to his. "But you know, I'm a wolf, not a doggie." Sain blushed fiercely and a cold sweat slowly formed over him. Lyn reached her hand to Sain's hat and brushed it with her hands. "What's the matter? Wolf got your tongue?"

"..." Sain's eyes started to glaze over, and he looked extremely nervous. Lyn moved back from him and grinned.

"Tee hee hee...Didn't you mean it when you said you wanted to keep me as a pet?" The moment Lyn said this, Sain's face turned completely red and he looked horrified when he remembered that he had said that. Lyn smiled and pointed a finger to her collar. "As I recall, you gave me this pretty collar, we rolled around in the grass, and if I remember correctly, you let me lick you on the mouth." Sain went even more red as she stated these, and Farina gave a little chuckle.

"Oooh! Is this true?!" Farina looked at Sain, grinning.

"B-But she was a dog---I mean wolf! I-If I knew she was a human, I would have taken it a little more slowly. Starting with the e-mail, then a small kiss, and then..." Sain continued with his little list of what he would have done if he knew Lyn was a human. Rebecca's shoulders started shaking with rage, and she glared at Sain with a mixture of disgust and rage.

"..." Rebecca glared at Sain again, pointing a finger at him. "Wow Sain, I never knew you had it in you! I'm sorry I missed it!" Rebecca scolded Sain, sarcasm plain on her every word. Sain turned back to Rebecca, trying to calm her down.

"N-No! It's not--"

"I can't believe this, Sain...I take it back..." Rebecca was trembling with rage and she took out her sword. "You'll **never** be a hero!!!" She threw it at Sain's head, and it smacked him cleanly, and lodged in his hair and hat.

"B-But...But...Rebecca!" Sain tried to rectify this situation, but Rebecca was too angry to care.

"I'm not listening!!" Rebecca stormed off with Sain chasing her. Farina and Lyn were talking behind Sain, laughing at his antics.

A few more hours passed, and Eliwood and Erk stood in the ruined Cherry Blossom Maze. Eliwood pushed aside a few fallen cherry blossoms with his foot.

"What a mess...I guess this area won't be usable for a while...Should we close it down for repairs?" Eliwood sweatdropped as he stared at the destruction and mayhem.

"My cherry blossoms....I worked so hard on this program!" Erk was just too stunned to shout or cry. He just stared at the vast destruction that was around him.

"So, dot heroes. Where will journey take you next?" Eliwood shuddered and looked at the ground. "I didn't think they would cause this much destruction..." Erk just let out a big sigh as he stared at his ruined program.

Today's Adventure

Lyn's experience points are up!

Lyn obtained the "Collar"!

Sain's reputation went down.

Sain - **Level 2 Twin Blade**

Rebecca - **Level 2 Heavy Blade**

Farina** - Level 32 Wavemaster**

Lyn** - Level 73 Werewolf**

Later, Rebecca and Farina were petting Lyn, who was back in her wolf form. Lyn was smiling and Sain tried to come closer to bet Lyn as well. Rebecca continued petting Lyn, but scolded Sain.

"You're not allowed to touch, Sain." San stopped in his tracks and left, hanging his head in sadness.

_Sain,_

_It was fun meeting you at the Cherry Blossom Festival! I hope you don't mind my breaking up the picnic with a little combat. I wish we could have fought something tougher. Oh well. The day wasn't a complete loss--I got this great new collar. (I really do like it, Sain!)_

_I really want to be strong--Can you relate? Guys can really understand that. If you ever want to level up quickly, come hang out with me and I'll help you rack up mega experience points!_

_Bye! -Lyn_

__

* * *

Chris: You know what? I actually don't know what poly counts are. If any of you readers know, can you tell me? It'd help me out a lot. Oh yeah, and I would have changed the pile of bones to a pile of armor, but then it wouldn't make sense as to why a dog would try to eat one. Granted, the dog was Lyn, but still. It makes much for sense for them to be bones. And I found out some very disturbing stuff. Volume 3 is delayed to early November! Come on, it's so far away...Oh well, it's close to my birthday...Maybe I can get my dad to buy it for me and some more manga. Dammit...Still...November? Man...

And I don't really care about the no script-format in author notes rules. I'm going to have my muses back in the next chapter and no one can stop me! MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, and I have some .Elibe fan-art. Actually, I annoyed some of my friends and they drew them for me. The links are up in my profile if you want to see them.

[1] Sake Quote! Remember it! It'll be on the quiz!


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